Last week, Wylde Audio unveiled the Blood Skull Berzerker, and at first it looked to be an electric guitar drop like most others.
But when we started to dig a little deeper for some necessary background research, the story took a rather, erm, unexpected turn down a bizarre, inexplicable, AI-riddled path that we never, ever would have imagined.
Type 'Wylde Audio' into Google, and you’ll be brought to the Schecter website, owing to the fact Schecter Guitar Research has been the home of Zakk Wylde’s gear brand ever since it was unveiled at the 2015 NAMM show.
However, you will now also see a website that boasts the rather official-looking ‘wylde-audio.com’ domain – and it’s here where things start to get a little bit strange.
While doing some cursory research for the Wylde Audio story, GW contributor Phil Weller ended up stumbling upon this website and it wasn’t long before he flagged it. Why? Well, where to start… it’s literally a website littered with red flags.
First of all, the pictures that are used all over the site are hilariously AI’d. Not only are they definitely not Wylde Audio guitars, they don’t even exist – those despicably unconvincing body shapes, nonsensical headstock designs and implausible designs were fooling absolutely no-one.
Oh, and it’s got pics of amps, which, again, aren’t real. It’s clear someone has just typed ‘Marshall combo’ in a generative image prompt and stuck whatever came out on the site. That font is truly laughable.
But beyond the weird and wonky AI gear pics, the site’s fictional ‘About Us’ section, along with its product and artist lists, is where things get truly absurd.
According to Wylde Audio dot com, the firm was founded in 1965 (yes, in the mid-1960s) by a mysterious Joe Wylde, who became “obsessed with building the perfect guitar”. As the story goes, “In the 1970s, Wylde Audio® expanded into mass production to meet demand.
“We opened a state-of-the-art factory using the latest technologies while maintaining Joe’s hands-on craftsmanship and attention to detail. The newly streamlined production allowed us to build guitars with greater efficiency without sacrificing quality.” Oh, yes – very convincing indeed.
It goes without saying, but all of the above is false. There is no Joe Wylde, and the brand hasn’t been around for over 50 years.
As for the products, the website does use pictures and links of actual Wylde Audio guitars (which makes this whole thing even stranger) but goes on to say it builds acoustic guitars, semi-hollow electrics, and even guitar amps. Ever heard of a Wylde Audio Wyndcaster acoustic? No, because it’s not a thing – but this website says it is.
And we’d be remiss not to mention those many fictional creations that actually do use genuine Wylde Audio product names, but pair them with absolutely bonkers AI pictures. One, for example, has a listing for a guitar that says it features a quilted maple top and large block inlays. Neither of those can be seen on the bizarre AI generated six-string.
But the artist section is the real kicker. Apparently Eric Clapton, Slash, Jimmy Page and Braid Paisley are all loyal Wylde Audio players. Even more absurd, the site names John Mayer as a Wylde Audio artist, and claims he “relies on his custom-built Wylde acoustics to create his hit records”. How about Neon on a non-existent Wylde Audio acoustic?
It begs the question, what is actually happening over at Wylde Audio dot com? The genuine Wylde Audio brand lives on Schecter, and has done since its inception. Has the Wylde Audio address been bought by some artificial intelligence fanatic, or has it fallen into public domain, and now it’s being controlled by AI?
Whatever the case, the website is absolutely filled with nonsense – we haven’t even mentioned the ‘Client Testimonials’ yet – so it’s quite strange to see the lengths the new site custodian has gone to in order to completely remodel the site.
So, as a public service announcement, steer well clear of wylde-audio.com. The only genuine Wylde Audio site is schecterguitars.com/guitars/wylde-audio, and it’s only a matter of time before the fraudulent site is taken off air.
